Series:

Los Angeles Anti-Police Violence Movement

Topic:

Civil Liberties

Biographical Note:

Longtime police misconduct lawyer and a founding member of the Police Misconduct Lawyers Referral Service (now known as Cop Watch).

Interviewer:

Helps, David

Interviewee:

Burton, John

Persons Present:

Helps and Burton.

Place Conducted:

The interview was conducted by telephone.

Supporting Documents:

Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library’s Center for Oral History Research.

Interviewer Background and Preparation:

The interview was conducted by David Helps, PhD candidate in History at the University of Michigan, as part of the research for his dissertation project (M.A. History, University of Toronto; B.A. Hon. History, McGill University). Helps’ dissertation explores policing and anti-police activism in Los Angeles between the early 1970s and the early 1990s.To prepare for these interviews, the interviewer consulted Max Felker-Kantor’s Policing Los Angeles: Race, Resistance, and the Rise of the LAPD and the historical archive of the Los Angeles Times including a profile of the interviewee.

Processing of Interview:

The transcript is a verbatim transcription of the recording. The interviewee was given an opportunity to review the transcript but made no corrections or additions.

Length:

1.5 hrs

Language:

English

Audio:

Series Statement:

Between the early 1970s and the mid-1990s, thousands of people participated in protests, political campaigns, community organizing, and other activism related to issues of police violence in the Los Angeles area. This series documents this area of activism, including the work of the Coalition Against Police Abuse, the Police Misconduct Lawyers Referral Service (today Police Watch), and the Pasadena public-access television show Message to the Grassroots, hosted by Michael Zinzun. Through interviews with community organizers, police misconduct attorneys, and people with direct experience of police violence, the series shines a light on a crucial moment in the history of Los Angeles and the United States. In addition to documenting activism around policing, this series also explores participants’ experiences with other social justice struggles, such as Black Power, the anti-apartheid/Southern Africa freedom movement, the women’s movement, the labor movement, the Central American solidarity movement, immigrant rights defense, and activism against racism in the Los Angeles school system.The interviews were conducted in the aftermath of the 2020 uprisings against police violence across the United States following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the police killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.

Note:

The interviewer retained copyright.

Childhood—Lawsuit against Pasadena—Law career—Involvement with Police Misconduct Lawyers Referral Service—Dalton Avenue case--Rule 68 offer and distribution of money—Lynwood Sheriff gang case—Involvement of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund—Vikings sheriff gang and more on the lawsuit—Roger Clark’s testimony on the Vikings—Lawsuit over detainments—"Toss the house” harassment--Hugh Manes’ mentorship--Michael Zinzun case--Bryan Allen and Rodney King case--Christopher Commission--Kolts Commission--Daryl Gates’ radio interview—More on Bryan Allen case—Rodney King riots—Reaction to George Floyd murder and uprising—Career accomplishments—Next generation and future of police accountability